• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.562-581
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• 2018

This study was designed to predict the changes in species richness of plants under the climate change in South Korea. The target species were selected based on the Plants Adaptable to Climate Change in the Korean Peninsula. Altogether, 89 species including 23 native plants, 30 northern plants, and 36 southern plants. We used the Species Distribution Model to predict the potential habitat of individual species under the climate change. We applied ten single-model algorithms and the pre-evaluation weighted ensemble method. And then, species richness was derived from the results of individual species. Two representative concentration pathways (RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5) were used to simulate the species richness of plants in 2050 and 2070. The current species richness was predicted to be high in the national parks located in the Baekdudaegan mountain range in Gangwon Province and islands of the South Sea. The future species richness was predicted to be lower in the national park and the Baekdudaegan mountain range in Gangwon Province and to be higher for southern coastal regions. The average value of the current species richness showed that the national park area was higher than the whole area of South Korea. However, predicted species richness were not the difference between the national park area and the whole area of South Korea. The difference between current and future species richness of plants could be the disappearance of a large number of native and northern plants from South Korea. The additional reason could be the expansion of potential habitat of southern plants under climate change. However, if species dispersal to a suitable habitat was not achieved, the species richness will be reduced drastically. The results were different depending on whether species were dispersed or not. This study will be useful for the conservation planning, establishment of the protected area, restoration of biological species and strategies for adaptation of climate change.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.381-396
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• 2017

Understanding species distribution plays an important role in conservation as well as evolutionary biology. In this study, we applied a species distribution model to predict hotspot areas and habitat characteristics for endangered herpetofauna species in South Korea: the Korean Crevice Salamander (Karsenia koreana), Suweon-tree frog (Hyla suweonensis), Gold-spotted pond frog (Pelophylax chosenicus), Narrow-mouthed toad (Kaloula borealis), Korean ratsnake (Elaphe schrenckii), Mongolian racerunner (Eremias argus), Reeve's turtle (Mauremys reevesii) and Soft-shelled turtle (Pelodiscus sinensis). The Kori salamander (Hynobius yangi) and Black-headed snake (Sibynophis chinensis) were excluded from the analysis due to insufficient sample size. The results showed that the altitude was the most important environmental variable for their distribution, and the altitude at which these species were distributed correlated with the climate of that region. The predicted distribution area derived from the species distribution modelling adequately reflected the observation site used in this study as well as those reported in preceding studies. The average AUC value of the eigh species was relatively high ($0.845{\pm}0.08$), while the average omission rate value was relatively low ($0.087{\pm}0.01$). Therefore, the species overlaying model created for the endangered species is considered successful. When merging the distribution models, it was shown that five species shared their habitats in the coastal areas of Gyeonggi-do and Chungcheongnam-do, which are the western regions of the Korean Peninsula. Therefore, we suggest that protection should be a high priority in these area, and our overall results may serve as essential and fundamental data for the conservation of endangered amphibian and reptiles in Korea.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.939-961
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• 2016

For effective conservation of endangered wild plants, it is necessary to understand their interactions with environmental factors in each habitat together with life traits of target species. First, the characteristics of their distribution were investigated followed by their monitoring for 4 years focusing on the habitats in the lagoon. Also, their life traits were compared including production of hibernacles, fruits, and seeds by the soil fertilization and light intensities. Next, the information on the species was secured by germination experiment using the generated seeds from the cultivation experiment. The habitat of Glaux maritima var. obtusifolia Fernald in Korea was located in the rear edge of the worldwide distribution and its four habitats were isolated and distributed far away each other. Two of them were located in small salt-marsh and fine sand estuaries formed in the rocky area of the seashore, and the other two were inhabited with the sandy soil in the lagoon which was connected by river-mouth to the sea. Glaux maritima var. obtusifolia Fernald tends to be distributed in the sites where the establishment and growth of the competitor were inhibited by salinity, periodic flooding, and lower layer of the soil to extend a roots. It maintained its population by recruitments of hibernacles and seedling. The production of hibernacle was assumed to be affected by the particle consist of the sand together with organic matters in the soil. Seedling recruitment was observed only in the salt-marsh area located in the rear sites of sand ridge where was the shore of the lagoon. Glaux maritima var. obtusifolia Fernald was observed to have different threatening factors by each population. Its population in Pohang seemed the sedimentation of fine sand which affected the recruitment of hibernacles had been eroded due to the construction of the coastal road. The population in Ulsan appeared rapid expansion of competitor and reduction of its distribution area due to the interruption of eluted water supplied to the habitat. On the other hand, the habitat in the lagoon maintained the population relatively stable. Especially, the population in Songji-ho was determined to be the most stable one. To sustain the population of Glaux maritima var. obtusifolia Fernald distributed in the lagoon, it is suggested that the wide ranged scale of conservational activities is necessary to maintain the mechanisms including the entrance of seawater which belongs to the lagoon, and periodic flooding.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Traditional Landscape Architecture
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.55-66
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• 2018

The cactus habitat in Jeju Island has a phytogeographically specific distribution in the East Asian region, and forms a unique landscape as the only native cactus (Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill.) habitat in Korea. However, there has been no detailed investigation on the distribution of cacti in the habitat and no investigation on the diversity of the mixed composition of plants in the habitats and their correlation with the distribution of cactus populations. This study attempted to investigate the diversity of vascular plants in the Wollyeong-ri cactus habitat and record the actual distribution and trends of cactus distribution. In addition to the distribution characteristics of cacti, we also discuss the characteristics of species reflecting the characteristics of the habitat among the mixed population of plant species, as well as the biological and environmental factors that threaten the maintenance of cactus populations or require management for preservation of cacti. Considering the phenological character, we conducted the field surveys for flora identification six times between June 2015 and September 2017. The Engler classification system was used for the arrangement sequence and names of plants, and the Korean Plant Names Index was adopted for the Korean name of the species. The study results showed that the Wolryung-ri cactus habitat in Jeju Island has the characteristic physiognomy of an area dominated by cactus. For the vascular plants, a total of 125 taxa were identified, including 53 families, 104 genera, 109 species, 15 varieties and 1 forma. Endangered plants specified by the Ministry of Environment were not found. Two species, Cyrtomium falcatum and Asplenium incisum, were identified as the ferns, and no gymnosperms were found. In addition, 123 taxa of angiosperms, 91 taxa of dicotyledones and 32 taxa of monocotyledons were identified. The distributions of cacti were confirmed in 289 meshes corresponding to 59.3% of the total 487 meshes in the cactus protected area, which showed various coverage distributions ranging from 5% to 95%. Most of the meshes where no cacti were found are coastal areas with exposed basalt rocks where the soil depth has not developed or extremely restricted due to repeated waves, or areas where artificial facilities, grasslands, and observation paths have been constructed. On the other hand, there were 71 lattice points in 14.5% of the total area where the cactus showed 70% or higher dominance. Cacti are randomly distributed in these areas. They have adapted to the microhabitat environment and are found to be opportunistically distributed along the growable locations. Considering that the reproduction of cacti in the habitat is mostly dependent on parthenogenesis, the present distribution seems to reflect the potentially distributable regions of cacti in the habitat. Based on the results of field surveys, a management plan for conservation and protection of the protected areas has been proposed.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.27-43
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• 2017

The objectives of the study were to evaluate fish compositions, endangered species, community structure, physical habitat, and general water quality for a preliminary environmental impact assessment of Jeokbyeok River on the road construction between two regions. Total number of species and total number of individuals, based on CPUE, were 23 and 1186, respectively. The endangered species (I, II) as the legal protection species were Pseudopungtungia nigra (79 samples) Gobiobotia brevibarba) (5) Gobiobotia macrocephala (2), indicating a requiring of endangered species conservation. In the meantime, exotic species and ecological disturbing species such as Micropterus salmoides and Lepomis macrochirus, were not present, indicating a well conserved area. According to fish community analysis, values of species diversity index were high (range: 0.788 - 1.030), and the dominance index were low (range: 0.097 - 0.183), indicating that the fish community in this area was maintained well without high dominacne by specific species. Also, fish analysis on tolerance guilds and trophic guilds showed that the proportions of sensitive species were largely exceeded the proportions of the tolerant species, while the proportions of insectivore species were largely exceeded the proportions of the omnivore species. This outcome suggests that the ecosystem was well maintained in terms of tolerance and trophic compositions (food chain). Ecological health, based on the multi-metric fish model of Fish Assessment Integrity (FAI), reflected those fish conditions. In other words, values of FAI model averaged 82.4, which means a "good condition" in the criteria of ecological health by the Minstry of Environment, Korea. In addition, general water quality and physical habitat analyses showed that the system was in good condition. Under these conditions, if the road constructions between the two regions happen in the future, inorganic suspended solids may increase in the waterbody, and this may result in indirect or direct influences on the physical habitats and food chain as well as fish compositions, so the ecological protections and prevention strategy from the soil erosion are required in the system.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.204-216
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• 2024

Understanding the trade-off effect in ecosystem services and measuring the interrelationships between services are crucial for managing limited environmental resources. Accordingly, in this study, we identified the dominant trends and increases and decreases in ecosystem services derived from changes in land cover over about 30 years and tracked changes in the relationships between ecosystem services that occurred over time. Through it, we determined the relationship between land cover changes and ecosystem service changes, as well as the distinct characteristics of service changes in different areas. The research primarily utilized the InVEST model, an ecosystem service assessment model. After standardizing the evaluation results between 0 and 1, it went through principal component analysis, a dimensionality reduction technique, to observe the time-series changes and understand the relationships between the services. According to the research results, the area of urbanized regions dramatically increased between 1989 and 2019, while forests showed a significant increase between 2009 and 2019. Between 1989 and 2019, the national ecosystem service supply witnessed a 13.9% decrease in water supply, a 10.5% decrease in nitrogen retention, a 2.6% increase in phosphorus retention, a 0.9% decrease in carbon storage, a 1.2% increase in air purification, and a 3.4% decrease in habitat quality. Over the past 30 years, South Korea experienced an increase in urbanized areas, a decrease in agricultural land, and an increase in forests, resulting in a trade-off effect between phosphorus retention and habitat quality. This study concluded that South Korea's environment management policies contribute to improving ecosystem quality, which has declined due to urbanization, and maximizing ecosystem services. These findings can help policymakers establish and implement forestry policies focusing on sustainable environmental conservation and ecosystem service provision.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.227-235
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• 2016

This paper emphasized the necessity of the marine spatial planning (MSP) through the analysis of the major developmental projects which could make a contradiction based on the adequacy of the site selection and environmental impacts. The conflicting affairs between space utilization and management plan happen in the following ways: marine renewable energy development, sand mining, reclamation, construction of golf course in coastal area, thermal effluent and waste heat, erosion causing port development. The conflict of stakeholder continues caused by the accumulated environmental impact. For the reasons mentioned above, we found two things. First, it is necessary to comprehend the fact of developmental planning and MSP. Second, it is still unsatisfactory to connect the relevance of laws related to the spatial planning. For the reinforcement of marine environmental policy management, it is necessary to consolidate the property of site selection and assessment of developmental scale. Especially, while the strategic environmental assessment is in progress based on site selection and property of scale, consistent diagnosis is needed in the following concerns: the fact of the marine spatial planning, the relevance between national developmental plan and regional developmental plan, fisheries regulation, marine protected animals. For the environmentally sound and sustainable development (ESSD), MSP should have to be prepared based in a way of top-down including coastal and EEZ plan, relevance of ocean-use zoning and sector planning, 3-D spatial information. And also integrated information system have to be prepared through high-tech marine spatial information. In conclusion, consistent and relevant strategy for MSP should have to include the whole information related to the maritime affairs such as harbor, fishing port, fishing ground, coastal management, marine ecosystem generally.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.99-109
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• 2015

The Ecosystem and Nature Map (ENM) is basic map for current status of natural resources. The map has been offered information to ecological conservation and restoration, as well as to land use planning and policy making. The map composed of 794 sheets in 1:25,000 scale classifies total areas into three grade zones (1st, 2nd and 3rd grade zones) and separately managed zone. In 2005, the first draft Ecosystem and Nature Map was prepared by the second National Ecosystem Survey. It was opened for the people to search and appeal. So 1,419 cases of public appeals on the first draft Ecosystem and Nature Map were submitted in 2005. After partial revision, the first Ecosystem and Nature Map was announced in 2007. The second draft Ecosystem and Nature Map was prepared by the third National Ecosystem Survey and opened to public in 2012. As a result, 1,263 cases of public appeals were submitted in 2012. Since the first announcement of the Ecosystem and Nature Map in April 2007, 182 cases of public appeals on the Map were submitted until December 2013. Among them, 159 cases were announced with revision. According to the first Ecosystem and Nature Map announced in 2007, graded areas covered 7.5% in the 1st grade zone, 39.2% in the 2nd grade zone and 44.7% in the 3rd grade zone of the national land area, respectively. In the second draft Ecosystem and Nature Map in 2012, areas of the 1st grade zone and the 2nd grade zone were 9.2% increased 1.7 percentage points and 45.5% increased 6.3 percentage points, and areas of the 3rd grade zone were 36.6% decreased 8.1 percentage points. Among areas of the 1st grade zone, Gangwondo occupies 54.3% in 2007 and 47.6% in 2012. Gangwondo consists of the highest percentage of the 1st grade zone and the smallest of the 3rd grade zone. Seoul has the highest percentage of the 3rd grade zone. There were the highest increase of the 1st grade zone in Gyeongsangbukdo and the highest decrease in Jeollabukdo and Seoul. Vegetation is the most important evaluation factor to determine the grade of the Ecosystem and Nature Map.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.62-70
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• 2014

This study was carried out to analysis the vegetation status, the habitat size and the meaning of new natural habitat, and to provide basic data for conservation or management on the newly augmented natural habitat of Abeliophyllum distichum Nakai in Yeoju-si, Gyunggi-do, Korea. A. distichum is a Korean monotypic endemic species. Most natural habitats of A. distichum have been reported in South-Central area around Chungcheong-do. The extent of occurrence of A. distichum can be enlarged to Central area due to the Yeoju-si habitat. The new habitat is located on a hillock which is composed of rock field at $37^{\circ}20{\sim}21^{\prime}N$, $137^{\circ}43{\sim}21^{\prime}E$, and 99~120m a.s.l.. The habitat size is small as about $530m^2$, and a small stream runs aside. The number of individuals of A. distichum was about 1,200. But most individuals were smaller than 0.5m height, so just about 300 individuals are taller than 1.0m height. A. distichum on Yeoju-si seemed to be maintained and distributed by vegetative propagation from elongated roots of branches. Pinus rigida and Quercus aliena dominated tree layer, and Lindera obtusiloba, Q. aliena and Acer tatricum appeared frequently in subtree layer. The shrub layer was dominated by A. distichum with Stephanandra incisa, Euonymus alatus for. ciliatodentatus, Ligustrum obtusifolium, etc. The coverage of herbaceous layer was low.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.455-463
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• 2011

Conventional construction technologies have been continually applied without consideration of its impact to the environment. This resulted to various problems including the negative responses of local citizens that regarded some constructed facilities as aversive facilities causing environmental and hydraulic problems in the urban area, etc. To prevent these problems, therefore, alternative methods should be undertaken. A new approach termed "Low Impact Development (LID)" technology is currently adapted in developed countries around the world. This study aims to investigate the efficiency of the developed small constructed wetland (SCW) with horizontal subsurface flow as a LID technique applicable in urban areas. Two test-bed facilities were constructed and monitoring had been conducted between July 2010 and June 2011. Based on the findings, the removal efficiencies achieved for TSS, $COD_{Cr}$, TN, TP, Total Fe, Total Pb for the SCW-1 were 66, 53, 46, 55, 67 and 50%, respectively. On the other hand, the SCW-2 attained 82, 62, 51, 48, 74 and 42% efficiency for TSS, $COD_{Cr}$, TN, TP, Total Fe, Total Pb, respectively. The results indicated that the removal of particulate matter and heavy metals which are considered as main pollutants from stormwater runoff in urban areas was satisfactory in the system. Therefore, the test-beds proved to be appropriate for the treatment of pollutants in urban landuses such as road, parking lot, etc. The results of this study can contribute to the conservation of aquatic ecosystems and restoration of natural water cycle in the urban areas.